Indonesia has deported an American man who spent 11 years in prison for the high-profile “suitcase murder” of his girlfriend’s mother on the resort island of Bali.
In 2014, Tommy Schaefer was vacationing in Bali with his then-girlfriend Heather Mack and her mother Sheila von Wiese-Mack. The pair conspired to kill Wiese-Mack, apparently to gain access to a $1.5 million (£1.17 million) trust fund.
His body was later discovered in a suitcase.
Schaefer was released from a Bali prison Tuesday morning after receiving several pardons for good behavior. But the 33-year-old will still face federal charges in the United States and is due to appear in court in Chicago on Thursday, according to reports.
Shortly before boarding his flight back to the United States on Tuesday evening, Schaefer apologized for his actions.
“I’m sorry. I’m still sorry. I’m still sorry,” Tommy told the AFP news agency.
“I have been thrown into this situation, but I take full responsibility for everything I have done and I hope Sheila’s family finds peace.”
In 2015, an Indonesian court sentenced Schaefer to 18 years in prison and Mack to 10 years, for what the presiding judge called a “sadistic” killing.
Prosecutors had said Mack — who was 18 at the time of the killing and pregnant — covered her mother’s mouth while Schaefer hit her in the head with a fruit bowl.
The body was stuffed in a suitcase and left in the trunk of a taxi, prosecutors said. The driver then alerted the police.
The couple was later discovered staying at another hotel in Bali.
Schaefer, then 21, testified during the trial that he defended himself after Wiese-Mack became angry after learning her daughter was pregnant.
Mack was given a shorter sentence because of her lesser role and because she gave birth to a baby during her trial, the Bali court heard.
She too was released prematurely and expelled in 2021. She was arrested upon arrival in the United States and charged with conspiracy to kill a US national and obstruction of justice – and ultimately sentenced to 26 years in prison.
Mack had initially pleaded not guilty to U.S. charges of conspiring to kill a U.S. national, but changed his plea after prosecutors moved to seek a shorter sentence.
Mack has given media interviews over the years from prison, where she recounted the incident and her difficult relationship with her mother.